feel like fredo

Ben Berg’s intimate new speakeasy turns up with live music, Havana vibes, and premium prices

Julep owner Alba Huerta worked with Ben Berg on the cocktails for Emilia's Havana

Photo by Kirsten Gilliam

Ben Berg has a knack for creating something out of nothing. Just as he relocated a staircase inside The Annie Café & Bar to create room for his intimate supper club Turner’s, he’s transformed a storage closet at The Annie into Emilia’s Havana, a new speakeasy-style bar that will open this Friday, October 28.

Described as an intimate, 50-seat lounge, Emilia’s Havana channels the spirit of a 1950s Cuban club. Meals at Emilia’s will feature live, “bossa nova style” music from an in-house band plus DJs who keep the party going until 2 am on Friday and Saturday nights.

“When presented with this small space by my landlord, which was formerly a storage closet, my immediate thought was to create an intimate, speakeasy-style lounge with live music every night,” Berg said in a statement. “This is something I feel Houston is still really lacking.”

As he did for both Turner’s and his Italian restaurant Trattoria Sofia, Berg turned to Julep’s James Beard Award-winning bar owner Alba Huerta to create Emilia’s cocktails. Priced at $30 each, they include upscale variations on the Cuba Libre, daiquiri, el Presidente, and the mojito. Bottles of wine and spirits are also available.

Pair those drinks with a tidy menu of shareables that includes two different caviar preparations — traditional with blinis, creme fraiche and egg or a more creative spin with potato chips and meyer lemon-saffron mascarpone — along with A5 wagyu tartare, lobster and corn empanadas, and a Cuban sandwich made with duck confit and raclette instead of the traditional roast pork and Swiss.

Other aspects of the concept remain a bit of mystery. Berg isn’t releasing any photos of Emilia’s interior “to allow for an element of surprise for future guests,” according to a representative. Although a sign at the entrance encourages patrons not to take photos, expect to see images soon enough on social media platforms like Instagram and Yelp.

One thing that isn’t a mystery is Emilia’s premium pricing. Diners who wish to attend the early seating of 7-9:30 pm commit to a per person minimum $100 food and beverage spend, a $50 entertainment fee, and a 22 percent service fee for a total of at least $183 per person. The later seating of 10:30 pm-12:30 am comes with a minimum $150 food and beverage spend for a total price of at least $244 per person.

“You are going to pay a premium for your seat, but I am positive that this is a space where everyone will be able to really let loose and enjoy that nostalgic Havana vibe and unique bossa nova style of music that most people have only seen in the movies,” Berg added.

Emilia’s is open Wednesday and Thursday from 7 pm-12:30 am and Friday and Saturday from 7 pm-2 am. Submit reservation requests via the lounge’s website.

openings cocktails news-you-can-eat

head east

Eagerly-anticipated Houston barbecue joint hosts weekend preview pop-ups

Courtesy of Eastbound Barbecue

Get a first taste of Eastbound Barbecue this weekend.

One of Houston’s most eagerly anticipated new barbecue joints is giving diners a preview of what’s to come. Eastbound Barbecue will host “Sneak Peak Weekends” every Saturday and Sunday beginning this Saturday, December 20, until the restaurant opens in early 2026.

Held at the restaurant’s location in the East End (1105 Sampson Street) from 12-4 pm (or sold out), the weekend service gives diners their first chance to try Eastbound Barbecue’s smoked meats, sides, and desserts. That includes, smoked brisket, baby back ribs, jalapeno & cheese sausage, hatch chili lasagna mac & cheese, herbed potato salad, and more. Save room for the two dessert offerings, salted caramel banana pudding and cookie butter cake.

To distinguish Eastbound’s barbecue, chefs Lopez and Granville use different seasonings than other restaurants, such as rosemary salt in the brisket rub and a miso-caramel sauce that gives its ribs a sweet and savory bite. During the preview, Eastbound’s prices are noticeably lower than many other Houston barbecue joints, with brisket priced at $29 per pound, ribs at $26 per pound, and pulled pork at $22 per pound.

As CultureMap reported in August, Eastbound unites four friends, Ryan Penn, Ryan Powell, Luis Lopez, and Jake Granville, who also held senior roles at various restaurants owned by prominent Houston chef Ronnie Killen. Since then, the four partners have finished many of the improvements they needed to make prior to opening, including closing in the patio and installing offset smokers on the property.

For Penn, leaving the Killen’s organization after almost 20 years was a difficult decision, but one he felt he had to make. “I could have worked for [Killen] forever and been happy. It was more along the lines of, if I don’t do this now, I don’t want to be 70 and wish that I had,” he said at the time.

Courtesy of Eastbound Barbecue

Get a first taste of Eastbound Barbecue this weekend.

news-you-can-eat barbecue openings